New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins
September 1, 1996
| Quarter | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| New England Patriots | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| Miami Dolphins | 10 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| Scoring Summary | ||||
| 1st Quarter | ||||
| 3:54 | Mia | TD | Sean Hill 10 fumble return (Joe Nedney Kick) | Mia 7, NE 0 |
| 9:03 | Mia | FG | FG Joe Nedney 34 | Mia 10, NE 0 |
| 2nd Quarter | ||||
| 2:50 | NE | FG | FG Adam Vinatieri 25 | Mia 10, NE 3 |
| 14:25 | Mia | TD | Abdul-Karim Al-Jabbar 3 run (Joe Nedney Kick) | Mia 17, NE 3 |
| 3rd Quarter | ||||
| 5:27 | Mia | TD | S. Miller fumble recovery in end zone (Joe Nedney Kick) | Mia 24, NE 3 |
| 7:13 | NE | TD | Ben Coates 29 pass from Drew Bledsoe (Adam Vinatieri Kick) | Mia 24, NE 10 |
Attendance: 71,542
Missed Field Goals: None| Team Statistics | ||
| New England Patriots | Miami Dolphins | |
| First downs | 16 | 19 |
| Rushes - yards | 14 - 29 | 39 - 146 |
| Passing | 200 | 176 |
| Punt returns | 3 - 21 | 1 - 8 |
| Kickoff returns | 5 - 151 | 3 - 29 |
| Interception returns | 1 - 43 | 2 - 60 |
| Pass attempts - Completions - Had Intercepted | 19 - 38 - 2 | 16 - 22 - 1 |
| Sacked - yards lost | 4 - 21 | 0 - 0 |
| Punts | 2 - 47.0 | 5 - 41.6 |
| Fumbles - lost | 3 - 2 | 4 - 0 |
| Penalties - yards | 4 - 31 | 9 - 55 |
| Time of possession | 24:01 | 35:59 |
| Passing | ||||||||||
| New England Patriots | Att | Cmp | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Lg | Sack | Loss | Rating |
| Drew Bledsoe | 38 | 19 | 221 | 5.82 | 1 | 2 | 29t | 4 | 21 | 54.8 |
| Miami Dolphins | Att | Cmp | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Lg | Sack | Loss | Rating |
| Dan Marino | 22 | 16 | 176 | 8.00 | 0 | 1 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 77.1 |
| Rushing | |||||
| New England Patriots | Att | Yds | Avg | Lg | TD |
| Curtis Martin | 11 | 23 | 2.1 | 7 | 0 |
| Shawn Jefferson | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 6 | 0 |
| David Meggett | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 |
| Drew Bledsoe | 1 | -1 | -1.0 | -1 | 0 |
| Miami Dolphins | Att | Yds | Avg | Lg | TD |
| Abdul-Karim Al-Jabbar | 26 | 115 | 4.4 | 14 | 1 |
| Bernie Parmalee | 8 | 32 | 4.0 | 17 | 0 |
| Jerris McPhail | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 3 | 0 |
| Dan Marino | 3 | -3 | -1.0 | -1 | 0 |
| Receiving | |||||
| New England Patriots | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lg | TD |
| Ben Coates | 6 | 69 | 11.5 | 29t | 1 |
| Shawn Jefferson | 5 | 47 | 9.4 | 15 | 0 |
| Hason Graham | 2 | 32 | 16.0 | 23 | 0 |
| Will Moore | 2 | 26 | 13.0 | 16 | 0 |
| David Meggett | 2 | 17 | 8.5 | 9 | 0 |
| John Burke | 1 | 19 | 19.0 | 19 | 0 |
| Sam Gash | 1 | 11 | 11.0 | 11 | 0 |
| Miami Dolphins | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lg | TD |
| Stanley Pritchett | 6 | 77 | 12.8 | 52 | 0 |
| O.J. McDuffie | 3 | 43 | 14.3 | 22 | 0 |
| Keith Byars | 2 | 18 | 9.0 | 16 | 0 |
| Scott Miller | 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 8 | 0 |
| Abdul-Karim Al-Jabbar | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 4 | 0 |
| Jerris McPhail | 1 | 21 | 21.0 | 21 | 0 |
| Kickoff Returns | ||||||
| New England Patriots | Num | Yds | Avg | FC | Lg | TD |
| David Meggett | 4 | 131 | 32.8 | 0 | 54 | 0 |
| Troy Brown | 1 | 20 | 20.0 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| Miami Dolphins | Num | Yds | Avg | FC | Lg | TD |
| Jerris McPhail | 3 | 29 | 9.7 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| Punt Returns | ||||||
| New England Patriots | Num | Yds | Avg | FC | Lg | TD |
| David Meggett | 3 | 21 | 7.0 | 1 | 10 | 0 |
| Miami Dolphins | Num | Yds | Avg | FC | Lg | TD |
| O.J. McDuffie | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 1 | 8 | 0 |
| Punting | ||||||||||
| New England Patriots | Punts | Yds | Avg | Lg | TB | In20 | Blk | Net | OppRet | RetYds |
| Tom Tupa | 2 | 94 | 47.0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43.0 | 1 | 8 |
| Miami Dolphins | Punts | Yds | Avg | Lg | TB | In20 | Blk | Net | OppRet | RetYds |
| John Kidd | 5 | 208 | 41.6 | 49 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33.4 | 3 | 21 |
| Defense | |||||||
| New England Patriots | Sacks | Loss | Ints | Yds | Avg | Lg | TD |
| Terry Ray | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 43 | 43.0 | 43 | 0 |
| Miami Dolphins | Sacks | Loss | Ints | Yds | Avg | Lg | TD |
| Louis Oliver | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 60 | 60.0 | 60 | 0 |
| Terrell Buckley | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robert Bailey | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Daryl Gardener | 1.0 | 7.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Daniel Stubbs | 1.0 | 8.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zach Thomas | 1.0 | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
1996 NFL Scoreboard - Week 1
Sunday, September 1, 1996
| Arizona | 13 |
| Indianapolis | 20 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
| Atlanta | 6 |
| Carolina | 29 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
| Cincinnati | 16 |
| St. Louis | 26 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
| Detroit | 13 |
| Minnesota | 17 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
| Kansas City | 20 |
| Houston | 19 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
| Oakland | 14 |
| Baltimore | 19 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
| Philadelphia | 17 |
| Washington | 14 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
| Pittsburgh | 9 |
| Jacksonville | 24 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
| Green Bay | 34 |
| Tampa Bay | 3 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
| New England | 10 |
| Miami | 24 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
| New Orleans | 11 |
| San Francisco | 27 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
| NY Jets | 6 |
| Denver | 31 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
| Seattle | 7 |
| San Diego | 29 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
| Buffalo | 23 |
| NY Giants | 20 |
| Boxscore | FINAL/OT |
Monday, September 2, 1996
| Dallas | 6 |
| Chicago | 22 |
| Boxscore | FINAL |
